Heel breasting machine with adjustable lip cutter



Oct. 21, 1958 J. w. SJOSTROM 2,856,619

HEEL- BREASTING MACHINE WITH ADJUSTABLE LIP CUTTER Filed Nov. 6, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 21, 1958 J. w. SJOSTROM 2,356,619

HEEL BREASTING MACHINE WITH ADJUSTABLE LIP CUTTER Filed No'v. 6, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 12%;)237 fira [a WWW;

a w PM) A'Q'J United States- Patent U HEEL BREASTING MACHINE WITH ADJUSTABLE LIP CUTTER Application November 6, 1956, Serial No. 623,725 1 Claim. (CI. 12-42) This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 472,687, filed December 2, 1954, for Adjustable Heel Lip Cutter, and subsequently abandoned.

This invention relates to a machine for breasting wooden heel blanks of the Louis type and is an improvement on the breasting machine described and illustrated in U. S. Patent No. 2,544,470, granted March 6, 1951. The machine described in the patent has a series of jacks for gripping Louis heel blanks and moving them in a circular path past an adjustable cutter having two sets of blades which form the breast of the heel and trim the lip, respectively. Since for different styles or sizes of heels the lip must project a greater or lesser distance beyond the face of the breast, it is frequently necessary to adjust the lip trimming blades relatively to the breast forming blades. This may mean stopping the machine at least once for such adjustment, and if the resulting product is not right, additional stopping of the machine for further adjustments will be necessary. Furthermore it is important that when the lip of a wood heel has been trimmed, the edge face of the lip be a plane surface.

According to the present invention, the lip-trimming cutter is mounted independently of the breast forming cutter and is made to be adjustable while in operation, so that the machine need not be stopped for such adjustments. The shape of this cutter and the means by which the heel blanks are presented thereto are such that the edge surface of the trimmed lip is plane.

According to the invention, the lip cutter is so arranged with respect to the breasting cutter and turret head that it starts its cutting operation just before the breasting cutter engages the blank, and the cutter blades which generate the lip surface enter the heel-seat face of the blank and thereby greatly reduce the liability of breakage or chipping at the corners of the blank at the ends of the lip, as hereinafter described.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawings, of which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a heel-breasting machine including the improved support for the liptrimming cutter;

Figure 2 is an end elevation, on a larger scale, of part of the mechanism shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged longitudinal section, on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 of the support for the lip-trimming tool;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary elevation of a heel blank gripped by a jack and operated on by the lip-trimming cutter; and

Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 are perspective views of a heel blank at successive stages of the cutting operation.

The machine as a whole may be largely similar to that illustrated in U. S. Patent No. 2,544,470 including a base 10 on which is adjustably mounted a carriage 12 having thereon a rotatively adjustable table 14. On the table is a motor 16 connected by belts 18 to a shaft ,tance from the breast 34 of the heel.

, 2,856,619 Patented Oct. 21, 1958 carrying a cutter 20 for forming breasts on Wooden heel blanks.

A housing 22, mounted on the base 10, supports a turret head 24 which is rotated on a horizontal axis by driving means not shown. On the head 24 are mounted aseries of jacks 26, four such jacks being illustrated. Each of these jacks includes an inner jaw 28 fixed on the turret and adapted to be engaged by the heel blank to be operated on. the fixed jaw 28 is a movable jaw 30 actuated by mechanism not shown to press strongly on the top face 32 of a heel blank on the fixed jaw so that the blank is tightly gripped between the jaws and held in position in which its long axis is radial with respect to the axis of rotation of the turret head 24 and the breast surface 34 faces away from the turret head to be operated on by the cutter 20. As the turret head rotates the heel blanks are carried in a circular path in a plane perpen-' dicular to the axis of rotation. The jacks carry heel blanks in succession past the cutter 20 which forms the breast on each.

A separate independent cutter 4b is mounted near the cutter 20 to generate a plane surface in the breast face of each blank at the heel-seat end thereof as it is carried past. As indicated in Figure 2, the cutter 40 is located slightly in advance of the cutter 20, so that its cutting operation leads that of the cutter 20. The cutter 40 is mounted on an end of a shaft 44 which is parallel to the axis of rotation of the turret head 24 and is journalled in suitable bearings 46 and 48 mounted in a tubular sleeve 50. The other end of the shaft 44 carries a pulley wheel 52 for a belt 54 which connects it to a suitable motor 56 conveniently mounted on the base 10. The sleeve 50 is longitudinally slidable in a housing 58 to adjust the position of the cutter 40 so that the trimmed lip 42 Will be offset the desired dis- The housing 58 is carried by and may be integral with a stand 60 which is bolted to the base 10. The housing 58 is split as at 62 for most of its length, ordinary clamping means 64 being operable by a handle 66 to draw the edges of the split toward each other so as to grip the sleeve 50 and hold the cutter securely in any position of adjustment. When the sleeve 50 is released by the clamping means 64 for axial adjustment, such movement is brought about by rotation of a ring '70 having an interiorly threaded portion 72 in threaded engagement with an end portion of the housing 58. The ring 70 also has an inwardly extending flange 74 which is confined by shoulders on the sleeve-shaft assembly to prevent relative axial movement of the ring and the sleeve-shaft assembly. When therefore the ring is rotated by manipulation of convenient handles 76 or otherwise, it travels axially on the threaded portion of the housing 58 and carries with it the sleeve-shaft including the cutter 40. As indicated in Figure 4, the shape of the cutter is such that when an object is moved past the end of the cutter the blades generate a plane surface thereon which is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the cutter. Since the jacks on the turret head 24 move the heel blanks past the cutter 40 in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation thereof, it follows that the lip edge surface 42 which is generated by the cutter is always a plane surface. As indicated in Figure 2 by the arrow on the motor 56, the cutter 40 is rotated in such a direction that when a heel blank is brought into cutting relation thereto, the blades of the cutter strike upward through the heel-seat face of the blank. This greatly reduces the liability of splitting at the corners 80 and 82 of the blank.

Axial adjustments of the cutter 40 can be made while Radially outward with respect tothe machine is operating, thus eliminating the necessity of stopping the machine. After an adjustment has been made to cut a batch of heels differing from the batch previously completed, a heel blank can be put through the machine in a moment and'inspected to see if the adjustment is correct. If not, a second adjustment can be quickly made and tested by another heel blank. Each time an adjustment is to be made, the handle 66' is turned to release the sleeve 50. The ring 70 is then turned to advance the tool 40 toward 'orretract it from the turret head 24. The handle 66 is then turned to cause the housing 58 to grip the sleeve.

When the cutters are properly adjusted they progress across the breast face of each blank which is carried past, generating surfaces as indicated in Figures to 8. Since the blank is carried by the turret headfrom left to right, but in an arcuate path, the cutspr'ogress from right to left. As indicated in Figure 5, the cutter 40 starts generating the lip face 42 which is plane. Then the cutter 20 advances across the breast surface of the blank, incidentally trimming away partof the face 42 until a narrow segment of this face is left as indicated in Figure 8;

I claim:

In a heel breasting machine having a base, aturret head. rotatable about. a horizontal axis on; saidbase, and jacks on said head adapted to grip heel blanks and carry them incireular paths in a plane perpendicular-10' said axis, each said jack having an inner gripping jaw near the axis of rotation of the turret head and a second gripping jaw disposed radially outward from said inner jaw whereby to hold a heel blank with its long axis radially disposed with respect-to said axis; a shaft mounted for rotation aboutan axis. parallel to the axis of said turret head, av cutter mounted on said. shaft opposite said head, and means rotatably supporting said shaft on said' base, said supporting means comprising a stand on said base, a partly' split tubular housing on said stand, a tubular sleeve fitted in said housing and longitudinally adjustable therein,.'bearings. in said. sleeve for. said cutter shaft, and means on said housing for causing said housing to grip said sleeve.

References Cited in. thefile oi thispatent UNITED STATES? PATENTS 

